Nanwalek Airport (formerly English Bay Airport) | |||||||||||
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| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Public | ||||||||||
| Owner | State of Alaska DOT&PF – Central Region | ||||||||||
| Location | Nanwalek, Alaska (formerly English Bay) | ||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 27 ft / 8 m | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 59°21′08″N151°55′31″W / 59.35222°N 151.92528°W /59.35222; -151.92528 | ||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||
  KEB Location of airport in Alaska | |||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||
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| Statistics (2002) | |||||||||||
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| Source:Federal Aviation Administration[1] | |||||||||||
Nanwalek Airport (IATA:KEB,FAALID:KEB) is a state-owned public-useairport located inNanwalek (formerly English Bay), anunincorporated community in theKenai Peninsula Borough of the US state ofAlaska. It was formerly known asEnglish Bay Airport.[1]
Nanwalek Airport covers an area of 14 acres (5.7 ha) which contains one gravelrunway (1/19) measuring 1,850 x 50 ft (564 x 15 m).[1]
For 12-month period ending December 31, 2002, the airport had 3,100 aircraft operations, an average of 8 per day: 97%air taxi and 3%general aviation.[1]
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| Smokey Bay Air | Port Graham |
This airport is considered the shortest runway in the USA used by US commuter airlines. The runway is 1850 feet, however the Department of Transportation has closed the first 1000 feet of Runway 19 making the usable runway only 850 feet.
ACessna 206 belonging toSmokey Bay Air crashed near the Nanwalek Airport, after an aborted landing, on July 11, 2003. The plane crashed into the sea about 200 yards offshore. The pilot, Stephen Finley, 49 of Hopewell, N.J. died in the crash. He was the only person on board.
ACessna 206 belonging to Smokey Bay Air crashed near Nanwalek Airport on takeoff on December 15, 2011. The plane crashed into the sea about 100 ft (30 m) from the shore, and the four persons who had been on board swam to the shore. The crash is being investigated by theNational Transportation Safety Board.[2]
ASmokey Bay AirCessna 207 Turbo Skywagon crashed following a go-around attempt at Nanwalek Airport on April 28, 2025. The pilot and one passenger were killed. A second passenger survived in critical condition.[3] During the go-around attempt, the airplane entered a steep left bank near the north end of the airport before losing control and spiraling to the ground.[4] According to the NTSB preliminary report, a company pilot in the vicinity reported the accident pilot radioing that he was going around due to "something on the runway.".[5] The same aircraft, N91025, was involved in an incident at Nanwalek causing substantial damage on 23 August 2016.[6]
